:00:23. > :00:26.Hello and welcome to Stormont Today. And we start with congratulations
:00:27. > :00:32.to the SDLP's Conall McDevitt. He completed yesterday's London
:00:32. > :00:35.Marathon in less than four hours. And the session in the chamber was
:00:35. > :00:39.equally speedy today, just under four hours from beginning to end.
:00:39. > :00:42.Well done to all our MLAs for that feat of endurance.
:00:42. > :00:50.And back in the chamber today, Mr McDevitt hadn't run out of steam.
:00:50. > :00:56.He wants action from the Education Minister. This minister needs to
:00:56. > :01:03.move from fiddling with the policy to bringing in a right. A human
:01:03. > :01:05.right. A right to pre-school and nursery education to every child
:01:05. > :01:08.who showed -- also wishes to avail of it.
:01:08. > :01:13.And whose grandson came to Stormont today after a chance meeting with
:01:13. > :01:20.an MLA? William happen to say, I have a relative involved in
:01:20. > :01:23.Northern Ireland. And Chris Herd, who was that? I expected to -- I
:01:23. > :01:26.expected him to say Almera something, and he said captain
:01:26. > :01:29.O'Neill. And with me throughout, my guest is
:01:29. > :01:33.Paula Kelly of digimumsni. Children's issues dominated
:01:33. > :01:35.business in the chamber this afternoon. There was a motion on
:01:35. > :01:40.support teams for young people and the ongoing problem with pre-school
:01:40. > :01:48.nursery provision. With me now is Paula Kelly from the website
:01:49. > :01:54.digimums. Thank you for being our guest. This subject of the nursery
:01:54. > :01:59.provision has had -- has been highlighted. What have been people
:01:59. > :02:05.saying on your website? This isn't the first time this has been
:02:05. > :02:09.brought up and certainly the parents, their feeling is they fail
:02:09. > :02:16.criteria for pre-school education. The government have made a
:02:16. > :02:21.commitment to children's education and we have made great strides, and
:02:21. > :02:24.parents feel they would like criteria as a whole reviewed.
:02:24. > :02:30.unfortunate we have gone into a situation where parents who are
:02:30. > :02:36.working Orrell must set against parents were not working? -- who
:02:36. > :02:46.are working are set against. They feel the criteria is weighted
:02:46. > :02:48.
:02:49. > :02:53.against them. They feel it is difficult up July and August. They
:02:53. > :02:59.feel it is more difficult for their children to be educated and there
:02:59. > :03:08.are bigger issues. If there is part-time and full-time places,
:03:08. > :03:14.depending where their child has, it is a logistical nightmare.
:03:14. > :03:19.there as many parents on benefits getting in touch? We have a cross
:03:19. > :03:25.next. I couldn't say for sure. Other people have made contact
:03:25. > :03:30.outside of the platform by a direct message. But there are views on
:03:30. > :03:36.both sides. The general feel is that children would like to be...
:03:36. > :03:43.It is about locality, children educated in their communities and
:03:43. > :03:46.socialising in their communities. Frankie. -- thank you.
:03:46. > :03:50.If Stephen Farry was on a high after his party conference at the
:03:50. > :03:52.weekend, he would have been brought back to earth quickly enough as he
:03:52. > :03:56.took questions today. We'll hear him in a moment but first up was
:03:56. > :03:58.the Education Minister. And here he is responding to a query on the
:03:58. > :04:01.number of schools here with control of their own budgets.
:04:01. > :04:05.The delegation of financial and managerial responsibilities are key
:04:05. > :04:10.elements in the department's policy to improve the quality of teaching
:04:10. > :04:15.and learning in schools. Within the resources available for education,
:04:15. > :04:23.I am committed to ensuring as much funding as possible is delegated to
:04:23. > :04:30.schools however it is important to recognise their -- recognise it is
:04:31. > :04:36.not always practical to do that. Their number of budgets are held
:04:36. > :04:39.centrally. For example school transport, meals, and schools
:04:39. > :04:44.should recognise the greater delegation will mean greater
:04:44. > :04:48.accountability and responsibility, as well as time management. Can the
:04:48. > :04:52.Minister respond as to why in Northern Ireland we have the lowest
:04:52. > :04:58.percentage of delegated schools budget compared to anywhere else in
:04:58. > :05:03.the UK? This is one of the arguments that you use statistics
:05:03. > :05:07.in any way you choose best. I can quote statistics back tee which
:05:07. > :05:13.suggest that the delegation of funding is as good as if not higher
:05:13. > :05:18.than in other jurisdictions. The member refers to the delegation of
:05:18. > :05:21.the funding formula, broken down to schools, but we also provide
:05:21. > :05:29.schools with different services which, if they were taken into
:05:29. > :05:34.account, would bring this up to what is happening in England.
:05:34. > :05:39.the issue of budget cuts and when a party colleague has a question for
:05:39. > :05:43.a minister, he can safely bet it will not be taxing. Can the
:05:43. > :05:47.Minister reiterate the extent of the impact of the Budget as a
:05:47. > :05:50.result of the British Government cuts and perhaps he could outline
:05:50. > :05:55.how he liaises with the finance minister in regard to these
:05:55. > :05:59.particular budgetary difficulties. The out workings of the British
:05:59. > :06:04.Government's cuts have been devastating to education and while
:06:04. > :06:08.we are able to make announcements as they did today of several
:06:08. > :06:11.million pounds invested over a number of years, and, indeed, those
:06:11. > :06:20.are very welcome, it has to be remembered when you were dealing
:06:20. > :06:24.with tens of millions of pounds, this makes a major difference to
:06:24. > :06:28.his school or community and we have to focus on that. The impact of the
:06:28. > :06:32.budget has been devastating and I have been reviewing my budgets as
:06:32. > :06:36.they have come into post and we are making savings where recant and
:06:36. > :06:42.reinvesting those savings back into education. The minister refers to
:06:42. > :06:52.devastating cuts. Can he explain to me how he can justified issuing
:06:52. > :06:53.
:06:53. > :06:59.50,000 circulars surveying, asking on views about cross-border
:07:00. > :07:04.education. Can he tell us how much this will cost? With respect to
:07:04. > :07:07.remember, his objections are political. If you set them aside,
:07:07. > :07:13.the then planning cross-border educational services makes economic
:07:13. > :07:17.sense because many of the border communities, regardless of their
:07:17. > :07:21.political views, operate across the border as if the border didn't
:07:21. > :07:25.exist so if we can provide education to the benefit of those
:07:25. > :07:31.local communities, and this is how it will be plant, if it is for the
:07:32. > :07:37.benefit of those local communities, we will move on to that plan. And
:07:38. > :07:43.if we plan on economies of scale, we will save money in the long run.
:07:43. > :07:47.So it ticks all those boxes. How much will it cost? The final cost
:07:47. > :07:52.hasn't been worked out but it will be minimal because we are not
:07:52. > :07:58.bringing in outside consultants. The star difference in my own
:07:58. > :08:05.department will be analysing the statistics. I'm not aware of the
:08:05. > :08:09.costs. I am sure -- I can assure him that it will be value for money.
:08:09. > :08:13.Employment and learning next and with high hopes this will be a
:08:13. > :08:21.major year for tourism, Army training enough people for the sect
:08:21. > :08:31.are? Northern Ireland will continue to host events and celebrations.
:08:31. > :08:31.
:08:31. > :08:36.These events often of a lion to showcase -- offer a chance for
:08:36. > :08:40.Northern Ireland to show case itself. I want to provide
:08:40. > :08:47.employment and taboos the local economy through these. The skills
:08:47. > :08:50.of staff are fundamental to success. I have designated tourism and
:08:50. > :08:57.hospitality as a priority skill area. My department has been
:08:57. > :09:00.working with the Northern Ireland Tourist Board. They have developed
:09:00. > :09:10.and put in place a customised training programme for customer
:09:10. > :09:13.
:09:13. > :09:19.service. In the financial year just ended, I allocated �350,000 for
:09:19. > :09:24.staff. And have committed finance for future training of staff. We
:09:24. > :09:27.are delighted the North coast will host the Irish Open and in
:09:27. > :09:31.anticipation, my officials have developed a short training
:09:31. > :09:35.programmes with the Northern Regional College to assist the
:09:35. > :09:42.tourism sector in this area to upscale stuff. This programme will
:09:42. > :09:47.be rolled up to other areas. The Executive is making a wonderful
:09:47. > :09:50.investment in infrastructure, and attracting events over the next
:09:50. > :09:54.number eat of the years but we went to see Northern Ireland tourism
:09:54. > :09:57.grow and flourish and to be a feature of our economy for many
:09:57. > :10:02.years to come and all of the international evidence shows the
:10:02. > :10:07.way we build a legacy and get a return Vizards is through word of
:10:07. > :10:11.month -- word of mouth and recommendations from families and
:10:11. > :10:16.between friends, and the there are - were the key determinant is the
:10:16. > :10:19.quality of the customer care, so it is important to complement what is
:10:19. > :10:23.happening in terms of investment and make sure we have an all-round
:10:23. > :10:26.package, make sure the tourism industry is a great success.
:10:27. > :10:29.Let's go back to the issue of nursery provision and hear today's
:10:29. > :10:32.debate calling for the right number of pre-school places in the right
:10:32. > :10:36.locations. The motion was brought by the Alliance Party's Judith
:10:36. > :10:40.Cochrane. In January, she said she was so happy she could kiss the
:10:40. > :10:43.Minister after he announced plans to change the entry requirements.
:10:43. > :10:52.But with no sign of the legislation to make the changes, there was no
:10:52. > :10:58.love lost in the Chamber earlier. Let's be clear, we have established
:10:58. > :11:00.the July-August criterion is wrong and it disadvantages younger
:11:00. > :11:06.children. The minister said he would introduce separate
:11:06. > :11:10.legislation. It was not in place quickly enough. Whilst it is
:11:10. > :11:14.progressive, it will not be complete in time. The minister has
:11:14. > :11:23.the park to act on this now and the parents want action. You should
:11:23. > :11:28.always go to your nearest school. It is difficult to put you on a bus
:11:28. > :11:32.alternative car if you are free to travel miles. The department has an
:11:32. > :11:38.issue and what this debate will insure is that yet again the
:11:38. > :11:45.genuine concerns of working parents is placed on the record in this
:11:45. > :11:49.house because there are clearly concerns the current process could
:11:49. > :11:55.become a disincentive for working parents. If we are trying to
:11:55. > :11:59.encourage people going back to employment, and to create an
:11:59. > :12:03.environment where by families can have a lifestyle that is able to
:12:03. > :12:08.accommodate all the challengers and needs, then, clearly, this policy
:12:09. > :12:15.is not able, as is currently constructed, to deliver. I have
:12:15. > :12:22.been here two and three-quarter years and we continually see no
:12:22. > :12:27.sense of urgency. No target dates, rarely target dates. This is a plea
:12:27. > :12:33.to everybody. Please let's look at how we can do things quicker.
:12:33. > :12:37.not need to have policies that tackle inequality if they just
:12:37. > :12:43.perpetuate another inequality. Which is why this minister needs to
:12:43. > :12:51.move from fiddling with the policy to bringing in a right. A human
:12:51. > :12:57.right. A right to pre-school or nursery education to every child.
:12:57. > :13:02.And, for once, he has simply refused to entertain that
:13:02. > :13:07.possibility and I do not understand why. It doesn't matter what I think.
:13:07. > :13:11.Parents don't understand why. They don't understand why, when we
:13:11. > :13:16.profess to be committed to transforming education and putting
:13:16. > :13:21.young children first, something I know Mr Rogers also in his speech
:13:21. > :13:29.and feels passionately about, that we continue to build a pre-school
:13:29. > :13:33.and nursery system on a policy that discriminates. I am at -- I am
:13:33. > :13:36.allocating a further �1.4 million for pre-school places. Over the
:13:36. > :13:42.last three years, additional funds have been made available through
:13:42. > :13:47.voluntary and private providers and today additional funding will be
:13:47. > :13:52.recurrent. A total of �1.3 million will be made available on a
:13:52. > :13:57.recurrent basis to further close a funding gap between statutory and
:13:57. > :14:07.other sectors. This was one area of concern. We do need to close the
:14:07. > :14:10.
:14:10. > :14:14.gap and the funding will close that Do you think that news goes far
:14:14. > :14:17.enough? It goes. I think it's great to hear that July and August is
:14:17. > :14:21.going to be reviewed. There are other aspects of the criteria that
:14:21. > :14:27.need to be reviewed on a longer term basis. But it's a bigger issue.
:14:27. > :14:31.I think it's going to take time to know what the right criteria is.
:14:31. > :14:35.Mervyn Storey raised the issue of a disincentive to work. Are you
:14:35. > :14:41.finding that, are people saying there's no point if trying to get
:14:41. > :14:45.back to work to have to organise the child care and transport to a
:14:45. > :14:50.nursery school that's miles away. There are parents particularly over
:14:50. > :14:53.this weekend who have said it doesn't incentivise them to go back
:14:53. > :14:57.to work, that they'd be better off staying at home and wait until
:14:57. > :15:01.their children are in the education system and that they would be then
:15:01. > :15:06.registered on like an income related benefit, therefore that
:15:06. > :15:12.would help them in their criteria. Is the stracher to provision the
:15:12. > :15:18.answer do you think? I think they need to align the supply and demand.
:15:18. > :15:24.I think it's maybe extending, having time extensions, whether we
:15:24. > :15:31.are looking at statistics and working out what are the areas that
:15:31. > :15:34.have high birth rate and forecast soing that we can extend --
:15:34. > :15:39.forecasting, so that we can extend provision in certain areas. Thank
:15:39. > :15:42.you. Prisons here are currently undergoing major reforms with
:15:42. > :15:46.hundreds of officers leaving with enhanced payments and being
:15:46. > :15:51.replaced by new recruits. The Prison Officers' Association has
:15:51. > :15:54.long been a very vocal force and its head, veteran, Finlay Spratt,
:15:54. > :15:58.was not short of words when he was invited to the Justice Committee
:15:58. > :16:08.last week. Tonight we concentrate on his appearance as we look at the
:16:08. > :16:12.work of the Stormont committees. The budget was cut by �17.6 million,
:16:12. > :16:18.that's what it amounts to. Whether people like it or not, we as a
:16:18. > :16:22.trade union have that responsibility. We went along and
:16:22. > :16:26.said you were prepared for discussions. I've said clearly from
:16:26. > :16:32.the outset, that the programme was not the answer of the Northern
:16:32. > :16:37.Ireland Prison Service. What the seed programme has done it hasn't
:16:37. > :16:42.reformed the Prison Service, it's dismantled it. That will be borne
:16:42. > :16:51.out over time. I hope I'm wrong. But indications would be to me, and
:16:51. > :16:59.I wrote to the department on August 2011 and said that again, it was an
:16:59. > :17:02.English solution to an Irish problem. The shift patterns from an
:17:02. > :17:07.English private prison and imposed it in Northern Ireland. I accept
:17:07. > :17:11.our job is to be there when we're required to do the job. But this
:17:11. > :17:20.has left the biggest mess that's ever, and you are not getting all
:17:20. > :17:26.the facts or the truth. It's all about, I'm here to tell you exactly
:17:26. > :17:33.what's going on. It could get worse. In fact all you people around this
:17:33. > :17:36.Justice Committee, who signed up for this wonderful SEE programme,
:17:36. > :17:41.you signed up to lock up prisoners earlier. That's what it's about.
:17:41. > :17:49.People need to realise, there are people in this committee shouting
:17:49. > :17:52.about reform. I'm all for reform, 100%, but just actually lock the
:17:52. > :17:56.prisoners up early. It hasn't broke out there yet. These prisoners
:17:56. > :18:00.don't realise on a Saturday and Sunday they're going to be locked
:18:00. > :18:05.up at 5.30pm. That's what's going on. If there's an independent voice
:18:05. > :18:10.of this, then why was it that the criminal justice inspector time
:18:10. > :18:15.after time, have had reports on the Prison Service which have come out
:18:15. > :18:20.with comments like "Customs and practices exist which should not
:18:21. > :18:24.exist in prison establishments, need for radical reform and the POA
:18:25. > :18:31.are part of the problem. All the parties signatories to the
:18:31. > :18:34.agreement all agreed there was a need for a radical review into the
:18:34. > :18:39.management and detention of prisoners." Is everybody in this
:18:39. > :18:45.instance wrong but the POA. That's not what I said. When I wrote to
:18:45. > :18:51.the department in August, we fully support a reform of the Northern
:18:51. > :18:56.Ireland Prison Service. We fully accept it was needed. Coming back
:18:57. > :19:01.to the criminal justice, I wouldn't set much to these people. They're
:19:01. > :19:05.just a quango produced by direct ruled ministers. It's easy to go
:19:05. > :19:10.along and criticise. I could come in here today and criticised all
:19:10. > :19:14.you people for different reasons and very easy to criticise the POA.
:19:14. > :19:19.It's very handy for management to abdicate their responsibility and
:19:19. > :19:24.blame the POA. The POA took a conscious decision and said fine,
:19:24. > :19:28.you get on with it. You only have to look at the mess that's been
:19:28. > :19:32.created. As the head of the association, representing the
:19:32. > :19:37.prison officers for 36 years and the head of this organisation for
:19:37. > :19:41.26, I've taken that opinion. It's management's job to management when
:19:41. > :19:49.we agreed the framework in 94, admitted in 97, management had it
:19:49. > :19:52.on their job, then the POA wouldn't have got, the PO ar bailed them out.
:19:52. > :19:56.It was handy for the inspector. If you blame the POA.
:19:56. > :19:58.Multi Agency Support Teams. What does it mean? Well, it's a scheme
:19:58. > :20:00.where health and education professionals work together to help
:20:00. > :20:05.children with issues such as behavioural difficulties or speech
:20:05. > :20:08.problems. The Ulster Unionist Roy Beggs proposed the motion calling
:20:08. > :20:17.for all schools and nurseries to adopt the scheme. Here he is
:20:17. > :20:21.outlining his case. I think in terms of the scheme, one of its
:20:21. > :20:26.benefits is the multidisciplinery nature so this a range of issues
:20:26. > :20:32.can be dealt with in a child- sentaerdproch. I'll demonstrate how
:20:32. > :20:35.one issue can trigger others. Whenever a child has a speech and
:20:35. > :20:39.language problem and thae rife at primary school, they're not able to
:20:39. > :20:42.communicate well with their teacher. They might not be integrating with
:20:43. > :20:47.the rest of the class. They're likely to have behavioural problems
:20:47. > :20:53.that flow on from that. They might be very withdrawn. They might be
:20:53. > :20:59.disruptive. That will affect other children in the classroom. So
:20:59. > :21:03.because there's a fundamental problem, other problems can arise.
:21:03. > :21:07.And the beauty of this scheme is that it can bring in the range of
:21:07. > :21:13.professionals required to help the child an the family overcome those
:21:13. > :21:17.difficulties and then benefit from education. I would like the
:21:17. > :21:20.multiagency support team to be available for every child, not only
:21:20. > :21:22.in my own constituency but in Northern Ireland. The feed back
:21:22. > :21:30.from the scheme has been very positive for parents, teachers an
:21:30. > :21:33.the children themselves. 78% of Prince pals and 69% of teachers
:21:33. > :21:38.highlighted that the children benefit from the intervention from
:21:38. > :21:43.the maths service. What other things are exorcising people and
:21:43. > :21:47.parents about this nursery provision? I would say that mainly
:21:47. > :21:50.parents feel it's about the locality. They want their children
:21:50. > :21:55.brought up in their own areas, educated in their own areas. They
:21:56. > :22:00.want them socialised, establishing those relationships at a young age
:22:00. > :22:05.and from the working parent's perspective, it makes life slightly
:22:05. > :22:10.easier and it's, otherwise it's logistically can be very difficult.
:22:10. > :22:14.Is there any sense of people doing what they shouldn't be doing, using
:22:14. > :22:19.parents or grandparents' homes as an address to get a child into
:22:19. > :22:22.nursery place? Does that ever come up? Anecdotally you hear of cases.
:22:22. > :22:32.It's difficult to assess how widespread it is. Last year there
:22:32. > :22:36.was research that showed there were so many grandparents being used, as
:22:36. > :22:39.informal child care. There have been instances of that. That's one
:22:39. > :22:44.of the issues we'd hopefully see less of in relation to the July and
:22:44. > :22:48.August issue, but people have been applying applying for a place in an
:22:48. > :22:51.area where their parents are living so they can look after the children.
:22:51. > :22:54.A chance meeting in Limerick brought a visitor here today with a
:22:54. > :22:57.strong family connection to Stormont. The grandson of Captain
:22:57. > :23:02.Terence O'Neill, the former prime minister of Northern Ireland,
:23:02. > :23:10.visited parliament buildings for the first time. UUP MLA Ross Hussey
:23:10. > :23:14.was there to welcome him and told me how the visit came about. It was
:23:14. > :23:17.very surreal. We were in a meeting in Limerick and William happened to
:23:17. > :23:26.say "I have a relative who was involved in politics in Northern
:23:26. > :23:30.Ireland. I expected him to say Alderman Joe blogs or whatever. He
:23:30. > :23:34.said Captain Terence O'Neill. We sort of went, did he just say that?
:23:34. > :23:38.Obviously since then we've had a private conversation and I asked
:23:38. > :23:42.him to visit. He was a significant part of my life as a grandfather.
:23:42. > :23:49.Actually his role in politics was really a very small part of my life.
:23:49. > :23:52.I knew the position he held. I understood that he was there saz
:23:52. > :23:58.sadly, things became more violent and obviously got worse afterwards.
:23:58. > :24:00.Beyond that, I really didn't know very much. Sadly, I think many
:24:00. > :24:04.grandchildren regret, I only started paying an interest when it
:24:05. > :24:09.was too late to start asking him questions or his wife, my
:24:09. > :24:13.grandmother. So the journey to just learn a bit more was a bit late in
:24:13. > :24:18.terms of asking it from the horse's mouth sadly. But lots of
:24:18. > :24:22.politicians are here and still have good recollections. Did you meet
:24:22. > :24:29.anybody today? Yes, I met a few MLAs who had stories to tell or
:24:29. > :24:33.recollections or things to say about him that they inspired, that
:24:33. > :24:38.he inspired him to join the Ulster Unionist Party or they were going
:24:38. > :24:44.no to O'Neill. Yeah, it's been interesting. Is this a one-off
:24:44. > :24:47.visit or will you keep the -- up the connection? Hopefully it's not
:24:47. > :24:50.a one-off visit. I hope to keep the connection with politics in
:24:50. > :24:56.Northern Ireland and what happens in Northern Ireland. I suppose my
:24:56. > :25:00.real interest is we achieve reconciliation here. That's
:25:00. > :25:04.something that interests me. If there's a small part I can play
:25:05. > :25:10.brilliant, and if not, I'll be an interested observer. I want to keep
:25:10. > :25:15.my link with what's happening with the political situation here and
:25:15. > :25:18.hopefully to see communities slowly build bridges. That's what really
:25:18. > :25:21.interests me. Have the party offered you a future leadership
:25:21. > :25:24.role? No, they haven't. That would be unwise on their behalf!
:25:24. > :25:27.Politicians at Westminster had their say last week about the legal
:25:27. > :25:30.case the Attorney General is taking against the former Secretary of
:25:30. > :25:37.State Peter Hain. But as Mark Devenport told me earlier it wasn't
:25:37. > :25:41.so straightforward for our MLAs. Yes, it was definitely the case
:25:41. > :25:47.which has been dominating the chat in the corridors. In terms of the
:25:47. > :25:50.chamber, even though there was an urgent oral question asking whether
:25:50. > :25:55.the Attorney-General still had their confidence, given some of the
:25:55. > :25:59.criticism from DUP minister and the DUP Deputy Leader recently, he
:25:59. > :26:04.wasn't able to get that question in because it was said there wasn't a
:26:04. > :26:09.minister available. Jim Allister was unhappy about that. He raised
:26:09. > :26:15.that in a point of order. Nowhere does it suggest that a minister can
:26:15. > :26:18.simply say "I'm not available". Considering there are four
:26:18. > :26:23.ministers, can you confirm this matter didn't get to you for
:26:23. > :26:25.decision but that someone in the business office took a decision it
:26:25. > :26:31.wouldn't be accept yapbl because they claimed they weren't
:26:31. > :26:34.available? We expect to hear more about this case tomorrow? Yes, it's
:26:34. > :26:38.due for a mention tomorrow morning in the Royal Courts of Justice.
:26:38. > :26:42.We've heard a lot from the politicians with the DUP weighing
:26:42. > :26:49.in on the side of those who say that contempt of court proceedings
:26:49. > :26:59.shouldn't go ahead. Jim Allister making a different view whether
:26:59. > :27:01.
:27:01. > :27:08.there's interference in the Jew dishary here. -- judiciary here.
:27:08. > :27:12.And controversy over the MLA Colin Eastwood. Yes, he carried the
:27:12. > :27:16.coffin of a personal friend, a former paramilitary and because
:27:16. > :27:20.there was paramilitary regalia at this funeral, other parties, the
:27:20. > :27:25.DUP and even Alliance were questioning the action and whether
:27:25. > :27:29.it was consistent with the SDLP's opposition to any kind of violence.
:27:29. > :27:33.Mr Eastwood said he was there in a personal capacity. The situation
:27:33. > :27:39.was confused somewhat because over the weekend, we had a confirmation
:27:39. > :27:43.of an SDLP reshuffle which saw Mr Eastwood off the Justice Committee
:27:43. > :27:49.and given a place on the standard and privileges committee. They make
:27:49. > :27:53.the point that was planned before the latest controversy and that it
:27:53. > :27:59.was simply co-incidental. They therefore are saying nothing to do
:27:59. > :28:03.with this. They have a principle over the image that went out with
:28:03. > :28:13.his carrying that coffin. It would have been the image that would have
:28:13. > :28:13.
:28:13. > :28:16.been the SDLP criticising Sinn Fein over. In terms of the website, is
:28:16. > :28:23.it filling a gap there that people want to get in touch with each
:28:23. > :28:27.other and with your side? Yeah, it's great fun and it's a good site.
:28:27. > :28:34.It's interactive where mums talk to each other and get advice. There's
:28:34. > :28:37.a network kind of like, digi mums, mothers and business people, who
:28:37. > :28:40.give great support for each other. Questions or queries, people are
:28:40. > :28:44.helping each other with things. could be a life line for people
:28:44. > :28:49.working at home I suppose. It's a good forum for people to talk to